Carriage.



P. W. ZINGSHEIM.

CARRIAGE.

APPLIoATIoN HLBD m1111225, 190s.

980,71 6. Patented Aug. 1o, 1909.

ImanlIlD--lllll'N-Jll Urrsin srArEs PATEN sri.

FREDRIOK W. ZINGSI-IEIM, OF FERGUSON, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR TO MOONBROTHERS GAR- RIAGE COMPANY, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, A CORPORATION OFMISSOURI.

CARRIAGE i No. 930,716.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 10, 1909.

Application filed September 25, 1908. Serial No. 454,690.

tain new and useful Improvement in Oarriages, of which the following isa full,'clear, and exact description, such as will enable others skilledin the artto which it appertains to make and use the same, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of thisspecification, in which- Figure l is a side elevational view of the seatframe of a carriage provided with a shifting rail and a support thereforconstructed in accordance with my invention; Fig. 2 is an enlargedvertical sectional view taken on approximately the line 2 2 of Fig. l gFig. 3 is a detail sectional view-taken on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2, Fig.4 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. l; Fig. 5is a cross sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 2; Fig. 6 is atop plan view of a portion of the lazy-back of the seat frame, one ofthe back stays being shown in section and Fig. 7 is a perspective viewof one of the shifting rails.

This invention relates to the construction of carriages, andparticularly to one-seat carriages provided with collapsible tops.

The main object of my invention is'to provide a carriage in which theshifting rails that support the top joints or brace bars that carry thecollapsible top are connected to the seat frame in such a manner thatthey do not extend across, or come in contact with, the lazy-back of theseat frame, thereby roducing a carriage in which the lazy-back is notmarred by lugs or brackets to which the shifting rails are connected.

Another object of my invention is to provide a carriage in whichthe'seat frame is provided with laterally rojecting sup orts to whichthe shifting ras are detachably connected, so that the collapsible topand the shifting rails which form a -sup ort for the top joints or bracebars can beV removed easily when it is desired to convert the carriageinto a runabout; namely, a vehicle that is not provided with acollapsible top. And still another object of my invention is to providea vehicle in which the fastening devices for the back stays areconnected to the seat frame in a novel manner. n

Other objects and desirable features of my invention will be hereinafterpointed out.

vseat frame.

`clearly in Fig. 2.

manner.

Referring to the drawings which illustrate the preferred form of myinvention, A designates the seat frame of a carriage, and l designatesthat portion of the seat frame which 'is generally termed the lazy-back.

Su' ports or brackets 3 and 4 project laterallpy from each of the seatframe to carry shifting rails 5, it being understood, of course, that ashifting rail is arranged on each side of the These brackets or supports3 and 4 preferably consists of flat bars of iron that extend down uponthe inside of the seat frame and are securely connected thereto byfastening devices, as shown in Figs. 2 and 4, thereby producing bracketsor supports that are strong and rigid and which are not liable to bedeflected downwardly when they are subjected to heavy loads.v

Each of the shifting rails 5 is provided adj acentits front end with adepending screwthreaded projection' that passes through an opening inthe support 3, and at the rear end of said shifting rail is a laterallyprojecting portion 7 that extends parallel to and rests upon the supportor bracket 4, as shown This laterally projecting portion 7 of theshifting rail is preferably rectangularshaped in cross section, and atthe oint where it branches off from the shifting rail is an opening 8that receives a bolt 9 which passes through ,an opening in the supportor bracket 4, said bolt and the openings through which it passes beingpreferably of rectangular-shape in cross sectlon.

Thumb-nuts 10 are mounted on the end of the bolt 9 and on the end of thedepending screw-threaded projection 6 of each shifting rail so as tosecurely hold the shifting rail in position and also enable it to beremoved easily. The top joint 11 and the bow sockets 12, `which carrythe collapsible top, not shown, are connected, respectively, to thelaterally projecting portions 7 of the shifting rails and to laterallyprojecting arms 13 at the front ends of said rails, in a well-known Aspreviously stated, the laterally projecting portion 7 of each shiftingrail lies upon one of the brackets or supports 4, and said portion 7 andbracket 4 are incased in a prop block 14 upon which the bow sockets 12rest when the top is collapsed or thrown back.

By referring to Fig..1, it will be seen that the shifting rails do notextend across the lazy-back 1 of the seat frame, nor in fact,

come in contact with said lazy-back at any point, and consequently, saidshifting rails do not mar or detract from the appearance of thelazy-back Which 'usually has a highly polished surface.

To convert the carriage into a runabout it is only necessary to removethe nuts 10, then disengage the depending projections 6 and the bolts 9from the supports or brackets 3 and 4, and thereafter move the shiftingrails laterally so as to completely disengage them from the laterallyprojecting supports or brackets on the seat frame. After the shiftingrails and the collapsible top which said rails carry have been removed,mud-guards or fenders, not shown, are then connected to the laterallyprojecting supports or brackets 3 and 4, said brackets thus constitutingthe supporting means for the collapsible top and also the supportingmeans for the mudguards.

Another novel feature of my invention is the means for connecting theback stay fastenings to the seat frame or upper portion of thelazy-back. Said means consists of a pair of bars 15 connected to theupper edge of the lazy-back and located at the curved portions of saidlazy-back, as shown in Fig. 6. Each of the bars 15 is provided with in-Wardly projecting lugs 16 through which fastening devices 17 pass tosecure said bar to the upper horizontal edge of the lazyback, said lugsbeing covered and thus hidden from view by the upholstering that erf-:-

tends over the upper edge of the lazy-back. rlhe buttons 18, to whichthe back stays 19 of the collapsible top are connected, are secured tosaid bars in any suitable manner, preferably, however, as shown in Fig.6, wherein the buttons 18 are provided with screw-threaded extensionsthat pass into screw-threaded openings in the bar 15. rThe lower ends ofthe back stays terminate at the upper edge of the lazy-back andtherefore said back stays do not detract from the appearanoe of thelazy-back as they do not extend over or cover any portion of same.

A construction of this character can be produced at a low cost, and asthe shifting rails are not connected to the lazy-back, or to devicescarried by or secured to the lazyback, it Will be impossible to tellthat the carriage Was originally designed for a collapsible top aftersaid top has been removed and the mud-guards have been secured to thebrackets 3 and 4 that project laterally from the seat frame. The barswhich forni the brackets or supports 3 and 4 extend into the seat frameand pass dmvnwardly on the inside of saine so that said brackets arestrong and rigid and capable of carrying the load to which they aresubjected.

Having thus described iny invention, what l claim as new and desire tosecure by lietters Patent is:

1. A vehicle provided with a seat frame having a lazy-back, bracketspermanently connected to said seat franie and projecting laterally fromthe sides thereof, shifting rails detachably connected to said bracketsand supported entirely by saine, said shifting rails having noconnection with the lazyback or with any members that are secured tosaid lazy-back, integral arms on said shifting rails that projectlaterally from the rear ends thereof and bear directly upon two of thebrackets on the seat frame, and prop blocks incasing said arms and thebrackets on which'they rest.

2. A vehicle provided with a seat frame, a shifting rail extending alongone side of said seat frame and terminating adjacent the back thereof,said rail being provided at its rear end with an integral laterallyjn'ojecting portion that is adapted to forni a support for a prop block,a bracket projecting laterally frein the seat frame under the laterallyprojecting portion of the shifting rail and also extending down upon theinside of the seat frame, and a fastening device passing through thebracket and an opening formed in the inner end of the laterallyprojecting portion of the shifting rail; substantially as described.

A vehicle having a seat franie which is provided with a back, a bararranged longitudinally of said back and having laterally projectinglugs that are detachably connected to the upper edge of said back,devices carried by said bar to which the hackstay of a collapsible topcan be fastened, and upholstering material extending over the upper edgeof said back and covering the rcmovable fastening devices that passthrough said lugs so as to retain said bar in position.

ln testimony whereof l hereunto allix iny signature in the presence oftwo witnesses, this twenty second day of September 1908.

FREDRlCK W. ZlNGSHElM. Witnesses:

VELLS L. CHURCH, GEORGE BAnnwnLL,

